


I Like You a Latte

by anotherhinnyfan



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Bad Pick-Up Lines, F/M, seriously be warned, terrible coffee puns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28635300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherhinnyfan/pseuds/anotherhinnyfan
Summary: When Elijah Mikaelson gets his first cup of coffee in Manhattan, he doesn't expect to be walking away with more than just coffee in his cup.
Relationships: Elijah Mikaelson/Reader, Elijah Mikaelson/You
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	I Like You a Latte

**Author's Note:**

> just a cute, cheesy coffee shop au with a lot of corny pick up lines. fluff and fluff alone. enjoy <3

Monday mornings in Manhattan can be one of two things: they can either be an inspiring start to your week or sheer hell, and for Y/N it seemed to be shifting towards the latter today. She dashed out of the subway and started running for her life – she was going to be late for her shift at Starbucks, and her insufferable manager would have her head. _Six minutes to 8 am_ , she thought, checking her watch, _okay, I can get there in four_. “Shit, I’m sorry!” she yelled as she bumped hard into a woman’s shoulder, who gave her a dirty look, but she couldnt risk stopping. 

The infamous green logo was finally in visibility, and in a minute she was bursting through the side doors into the kitchen, then bending from the waist clutching the excruciating stitch in her side. “Damn, girl”, her friend and colleague Cami said, laughing and looking concerned at the same time, “what happened to you?”

Y/N couldn’t speak from all the panting, she staggered over to an empty countertop and tied her apron strings while she caught her breath. “Oh God”, she said, still slightly breathless, “I woke up so late today, I had to run all the way from the damn subway to here.” Cami shot her a sympathetic grimace. “We should probably get out there before Tristan has a cow”, she said, and both of them rushed through the door to the front counter. As usual, the place was fairly crowded with college students and sophisticated professionals alike. Y/N saw Tristan glare menacingly at the two of them, but since they weren’t technically late he couldn’t make a comment.

In an hour’s time, Y/N felt as though she had served about three hundred Americanos and sugary sweet Frappuccinos, and she was already tired of it. In all honesty, she hated being a barista, but it was a means to an end, so four days a week she plastered a smile on her face and made people’s coffee and mopped floors and took out trash. She needed the money to help pay off her student loans, not to mention rent. She saw her next customer walk up to the till out of the corner of her eye. “Good morning!” she said, keeping her voice unbearably chipper, “I’m Y/N, how can I help you today?” Her voice wavered as she got a proper look at him – he was probably the most handsome man she’d ever seen. He didn’t look that much older than her, maybe three or four years at most, but everything about him screamed ‘money’, from his perfectly coiffed hair to the tailored suit to the expensive watch on his wrist. “Hello”, he said with a crooked smile. His voice was deep, with an unusual yet captivating accent. “I’d like a tall latte with an extra shot, please.” Y/N mentally pulled herself together and quickly took his order down.

“Can I get your name?”, she asked, half because it was her job and the other half out of personal curiosity. “I’m Elijah”, he replied. “Elijah. Cool name”, she said, her wide smile becoming borderline manic with every passing second. _God, he’s hot. Who let him walk in here looking like freaking Adonis?_ “Excuse me”, she heard him say distantly, snapping her back to reality. “I’m running a bit late, so if you wouldn’t mind…”

“Yes! Of course, um, that’ll be $3.75”, she told him, feeling the embarrassment creeping up her neck. He handed her a five dollar bill, and slipped the change that she gave him back into the tip jar. Walking over to the coffee machine where Cami was working, Y/N swooned silently while she took a peek at Elijah. “Holy crap, that guy you’re serving is _crazy_ hot”, she whispered. “I know right?!” Y/N whispered back, as she pushed a few buttons, waiting for the machine to pour out his drink. She fidgeted nervously, debating the extremely bad idea that was running through her mind. “Okay, you know how you say I never do anything crazy, or take risks? I’m about to do something crazy”, she said in a rush, picking up his latte and slapping a lid on it. She scribbled his name on the cup, plus a little something extra, and headed to the other end of the counter. “I have a tall latte, extra shot for Elijah!” she called out. He made his way through a small crowd of people to the front. “Thank you”, he said to her, giving her a friendly smile as he took the cup from her. “You’re welcome and have a great day!”

“What did you do?” Cami asked, confusion on her face. “I may have written a coffee-related pick up line on his cup”, she replied, covering her mouth with her hands. “Y/N! You did not just do that!” Cami said, shocked at her friend’s sudden courage. “Well he’s never been here before and I’ll probably never see him again, so I figured why not?” she reasoned, as Cami burst out laughing. A furious voice suddenly boomed behind them. “I do not pay you two to _chat._ ” Both of them nervously turned around in unison. “Get back to work”, Tristan scoffed. “Sorry, Tristan”, they muttered apologetically, and back to work they went.

-

Elijah got in the back seat of the car waiting outside, and motioned for the driver to start moving. He was already ten minutes late for his first day at work: _not_ a great way to set a good example. The traffic in Manhattan was so much heavier than back home in New Orleans. His feet tapped the floor of the car as though of their own accord – he was nervous to head an office on his own, without Father’s help, and when he was nervous, coffee helped. As he took the first satisfying sip, he noticed something scrawled on the side of his cup, and took a closer look. Right below his name in small, untidy writing read, _If you were ground coffee, you’d be espresso cause you’re so fine_. He almost dropped the cup in his initial shock – he wasn’t used to such boldness – but then couldn’t help but let out a long, loud laugh. _Smooth move, Y/N_ , he thought sarcastically. He decided then that he would be coming back to that particular Starbucks a lot more in the future.

‐The next day-

Through the onslaught of yesterday’s business meetings, Elijah found his mind continually wandering back to that terribly corny line on his coffee cup, and to her – and that’s why he was standing outside the coffee shop again, in the hopes of seeing her. It took gumption and a certain lack of shame to take a shot like she did, and he liked that. But it was when he walked through the doors and caught sight of her behind the counter that he realised just how _pretty_ she was, with eyes like stars and skin that glowed like a sunset. He waited in line impatiently for his turn.

Y/N was having a decent morning so far: thankfully she managed to get to work on time, and she was feeling weirdly cheerful after her stint with yesterday’s hot guy. _Thank God I’ll never see him again, she thought,_ inwardly snickering, _could you imagine the horror_ – “Hello”, she heard a familiar voice say from behind. She froze at the sound of it. _Good Lord, that’s him._

Elijah noticed her eyes widen at the sight of him for just a moment before she composed herself. “Good morning!” she said in an unnaturally chirpy voice that he assumed was solely for the workplace, “I’m Y/N, what can I get you today?” He gave an amused chuckle. “I remember your name, Miss. And I’d like one tall latte with an extra shot please, same as yesterday.” She took down his order, feeling his stare burning into her. “That’ll be $3.75.” He handed over the money, and put the change into the tip jar again. “Oh, it’s Elijah, right?” she asked him, trying her hardest to be nonchalant. He hummed and nodded in response, and she turned around to walk away. “By the way,” she heard him say behind her, “you’re quite the writer, aren’t you?” Her head whipped around to look at him. “I wasn’t quite so impressed though. I think you can do better.” A faint smirk formed on his lips, and he looked at her as though challenging her. She narrowed her eyes a degree and smirked back before walking off. He wanted more, well, he was gonna get it. She scribbled the cheesiest line she could think of onto the cup, laughing to herself at how bad it was.

He was waiting for her at the other end of the counter. “Here’s your drink”, she said, handing it to him with a smug smile on her face. “I hope you enjoy it.” He laughed quietly. “I’m sure I will. You have a good day”, he said, raising his cup to her and then walking out.

Elijah waited until he was back inside his car to read it. _Bean thinking about you a latte and you are mocha me crazy!_ He burst out laughing, and couldn’t stop smiling to himself the whole car ride long.

-

Over the next few days, Elijah bought several drinks in exchange for more gems like _You are just the way I like my coffee. Tall, dark and strong_ , and _Careful, hot coffee! Oh wait, nevermind, not as hot as you_. It became something that both of them looked forward to, until he stopped showing up. It been a week since she had seen him last, and every morning she would search through the crowd for him, to no avail.

“Hey,” Cami said, sidling up to Y/N, trying to avoid Tristan’s line of sight, “haven’t seen your hot rich guy for a minute. What gives?” Y/N rolled her eyes dramatically. “First of all, his name is Elijah, and secondly, he is not _my_ hot rich guy so I have no idea where he is.” Just then, she thought she caught a glimpse of his car rolling up outside, and suddenly, there he was, as godly as ever. “Speak of the devil”, Cami whispered teasingly. “Shut up”, Y/N mouthed.

He made his way over to her in just a few strides. “Hey!” she exclaimed, genuinely pleased to see him. “Haven’t seen you around in a while.” He looked just as happy to see her. “I had to go back home for some time. Family drama”, he explained. “I get that”, she replied, “so what can I get ya?”

“The usual, please”, he said, grinning, giving her the money. “Coming right up!” she said, about to turn away. “Oh, wait”, he said. “I brought my own cup, if that’s alright.” He handed over a matte black reusable cup. “That’s great”, she said, taking it. “I’ll have your drink ready in a minute.”

 _Damn, even his coffee cup is fancy_ , she thought, turning it over in her hands to see his initials engraved on the side – E.M. She took off the lid, and to her surprise, found a folded up piece of paper inside. She took it out and unfolded it – it was a handwritten note, in penmanship just as immaculate as his suits. She read it discreetly so that no one could see.

_Y/N,_

_The entire week that I was with my family, I found myself unable to stop thinking about you and your ghastly pick up lines. If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to take you out someday. So…_ java _number I can call you on?_

_Fondly, Elijah._

She blushed furiously and stuffed the note inside her pocket. As she waited for the machine to pour out his drink, she thought of what to write back. Of course she would love to go out with him, but she needed to think of something witty to say. Grabbing a tissue, she carefully wrote her reply on it, and placed it under his cup. He watched her walk towards him with a strange smile on his face.

“Here you go”, she said quietly, brushing his hand accidentally-on-purpose as she handed him the cup. His skin was warm and rough. “Thank you”, he replied, as he spotted what looked like a phone number on the tissue. He took a quick look at it.

_Elijah,_

_I knew there was something_ brewing _between the two of us. Yes, I’d love to go out with you. Call me :)_

_Y/N_

He laughed softly to himself. She looked at him expectantly, wondering if he might say anything. “So I guess I’ll see you soon, then”, he said, eyes twinkling. “I guess you will”, she replied, smiling back at him. Unexpectedly, he shot a sly wink at her, and she felt the blood rush back to her cheeks as he walked out the door.

-

As Y/N got back to her tiny studio apartment that night after work and class, she heard the muffled sound of her ringtone. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she saw an unknown number flashing on her screen. She answered it. “Hello?”

“Hello”, she heard the familiar deep voice say. “This is Elijah.” She chuckled, “I know it’s you. Are you calling to say you miss my puns already?” It was his turn to laugh now. “As a matter of fact, I do miss them. So, I was wondering if I could hear some more this Friday over dinner.” She shifted her weight from side to side, playing with an errant lock of hair. She had half-expected him to not call at all. “Um, yeah, yes. Friday is good, it’s great.” _God, why am I so awkward_ , she thought, smacking the side of her head.

He wished she could see the smile on his face. “Great. I’ll text you the details soon”, he said. “Cool”, she said, trying to hide the excitement in her voice. “Um, I should go. Gotta get up early tomorrow.”

“Of course. I look forward to seeing you soon. Goodnight, Y/N”, he said. “Goodnight”, she said as she flopped onto her bed, an irrepressible grin on her face. She already knew she wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, comments and kudos are so so appreciated <3 find me on tumblr @elijahs-wife :)


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